Reply to What do you think of a single, childless 40 years old woman?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Is this a trend? No kids? Or even, no spouse? Seems to be among the people I know.[/quote]

Real incomes have been stagnant or declining since the 70s...that's almost two generations now.  It costs vastly more to have a child now than it did before, and people have even less money.  It takes much longer to attain the education and experience to have the career needed to raise children in the same manner/SES you or your parent's generation were reared in.  There is a degree of "keeping up with the Joneses" aspect to the costs - you can do it on the cheap - but even among the blue collar people (minority and white) I know for whom the next big life accomplishment after HS is children, the trend is now to remain unmarried so as to maximize the services for which the kids qualify.  They literally cannot afford to get married, or it will lower the standard of living for their children.

I do think the culture has shifted to make the choice of remaining childless more acceptable but I think the social conservatives have it wrong: this is the result, not the cause, of the trend.  More people have been forced to take this path and so we've learned to be more accepting of it.  [/quote]

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